Ashtakvarga Chyawanprash is an Illusion
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Our sages have made reference about many useful medicinal plants in their texts which abound our country. The times changed and so did the value for ancient culture and tradition; people started forgetting the importance of these medicinal plants. Charak Sanhita contains the description of many such divine plants for example Brahma Suvarchala, also known as Hiranyakshira which has lotus shaped leaves. Ashtakvarga chawanprash made from eight Himalayan medicinal plants remains mockery now since all eight components are not traced by the researchers. Those eight rare herbs had made the old Chawan Rishi into a young man after eating Ashtakvarga Chyawanprash and hence it got its present name.
There is another medicinal plant called Suryakanta, the milk of these plants is golden yellow in colour. Another medicinal plant called ‘Nari’ , also known as ‘Ashvabala’, a ‘Sarpa plant’ (snake shaped) finds place in ancient scriptures. ‘Soma’ or ‘Somaballi’ is the queen of all medicines and has 15 leaves. One leaf reduces everyday depending on the moon light in the darker half phase interestingly a new leaf grows everyday during the brighter half. A medicinal plant called ‘Padma’ smells like lotus and the colour is also like lotus flower. Aja is known as Ajashrungi.
“There are several plants whose merits and demerits are best known by the tribal people; hunters, sages or people living in forest areas. “The popular Ashtakvarga Chyavanprash is just a deception because the recognition of these plants is purely dependent on illusion. Ashtakvarga symbolises eight herbs but even the best samples of Chyavanprash contains only four types of Ashtakavarga plants, namely Vridhi, meda, kakoli and Jivak and the other four are not available to collect the four Ashtakavarga plants theperson has to travel in the northern and western Himalayan area. These plants are effective in diseases like tuberculosis, heart disease, urinary disorder, diabetes and different types of fever. It could be possible that in future we are able to find the medicines for AIDS and HIV.”- Acharya Balkrishna
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Neel medicinal plant has blue coloured flowers and milk. It has many branches. It is recommended to drink its juice till satisfaction and take goat milk over it. Afterwards the person should lie down in a covered wooden tub in a nude position under the forest flame tree. This gives new energy and glow to the body. Similarly there are many medicinal plants in the hilly regions, which are full of medicinal values. Many practitioners believe no plant in India is capable of making a person unconscious like chloroform. However in Nepal and Bhutan a plant called ‘Vikham’ is found. It is 4 to 5 feet in height. The main characteristic of this plant is that when a person passes from near the tree he becomes unconscious. Smelling its roots works like chloroform. A plant medicine with properties called Nivirsho also grows near this plant and contains the opposite qualities. When a person keeps its roots near the nose, he regains consciousness. Such are the powers of these rare plants found in Himalaya region.